


Neal Caffrey and the Titans

by mielipieli



Series: Neal Caffrey or Wait, you're a superhero? [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Titans (Comics), White Collar
Genre: Dick's life is a mess, Gen, Neal Caffrey is Dick Grayson, the titans are good friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 03:39:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11889180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mielipieli/pseuds/mielipieli
Summary: Dick chose to become Neal for a reason. But what if that reason isn't there anymore?





	Neal Caffrey and the Titans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Quinis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinis/gifts).



> All of the amazing crossover fanfics by Quinis inspired me to write this. Read them all!!!!!!!!

Peter didn’t quite know what to do when two members of the JLA walked into the office. He watched with some curiosity as Red Arrow - that was his current name, right - threw Neal a look. Neal rolled his eyes. What was going on there?

Jones got up from his desk and apparently greeted their visitors. They said something and Jones replied by pointing at Peter. The woman with the dark hair - he couldn’t remember her name but she was somehow related to Wonder Woman - followed Jones’s hint and looked right at Peter. Great. Just what he had wanted his day to be like. The two made their way up the stairs and Peter got up to welcome them. 

“Good morning. What did I do to deserve the honour of a visit from the Justice League?”, he said and hoped he didn’t sound too sarcastic. Red Arrow snorted and got a glare from the woman for that. 

“I’m Troia and this is Red Arrow. We want to talk to you about Neal Caffrey”, Troia’s voice was soft yet confident. Still, Peter tensed. It was never a good sign when someone came to his office to talk about Neal. 

“What did he do now?”, he asked with way too apparent annoyance. 

The amusement showed on both faces as Troia quickly reassured him: “Nothing. Really. We would like to borrow him for a few days. We could use his expertise and would guarantee both his safety and his return.”

“What do you need him for that not one of your colleagues has the skillset for?”, Peter asked suspiciously. 

“We are not at liberty to say, I’m afraid”, Troia said. “However, since the JLA is not a federal agency, you are under no obligation to comply with our request.”

“How about we ask him if he wants to work with us on this case. As his handler you would obviously still have the last word but it might help you with the decision”, Red Arrow quickly added. 

Peter looked him over for a few seconds but he couldn’t spot any sign of an ulterior motive. Although he was pretty sure if this guy was capable of hiding a secret identity, he was probably also capable of hiding why the JLA of all people wanted to work with Neal.

“Alright. I’ll get him up here.”

\-------

Ten minutes later Peter was sitting on a desk downstairs with Jones and Diana after Neal had asked him if he could have some time alone with Red Arrow and Troia. That was one thing Peter was confused about: Why would Neal, a criminal, feel so comfortable with two superheroes. 

At this point Peter knew what it looked like when Neal was uncomfortable: He would smile more, he would crack more jokes and his whole body seemed ready for a fight. Instead of that Neal had had one of his easy-going smiles on his face. He had known both of their names without any hesitation. 

Troia and Red Arrow had also seemed weirdly familiar with him. The handshakes had been short but friendly. Now the conversation in Peter’s office was a mystery.

“Why are you so suspicious of them? They’ve both saved the city and the world countless times”, Jones said carefully from Peter’s right.

“You see that? Neal just crossed his arms and had a generally aggressive stance and neither of them had any kind of reaction to it. Usually people aren’t that calm when someone they don’t know well, especially a criminal, is openly aggressive”, Peter replied without taking his eyes off the three people in his office. 

Neal walked to the window and looked at them, Troia and Red Arrow following him with their eyes but not moving from their positions leaning on the desk. Then Neal turned around again and made some precise gestures. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Neal that emotionally involved in a conversation. I can’t imagine that would be about a case”, Diana added equally enthralled by the going-ons.

Neal lazily gave Red Arrow the finger. Red Arrow threw his head back in laughter and Troia seemed to hide a smile behind her hand. 

“People just don’t react that way”, Jones said and Peter bit down the laughter at the shocked face he made. He had to agree, though. Something was so definitely off about this whole thing. 

\---------

“We’ll wait downstairs if that’s ok?”, Troia said when Peter entered the office again five minutes later. 

“Of course. If you want to, you can take some coffee but it tastes pretty horrible”, Peter replied.

Arsenal laughed: “I’ve probably had worse. At this point I’m not even sure I can taste coffee. But thanks for the warning.”

Was that a hidden smile on Neal’s face? Peter was sure he had never seen that. Neal smiled constantly and used it to hide any negative emotions he had. As far as Peter knew he had never done it the other way around. 

“You seemed very familiar with them”, Peter said and watched Neal’s reaction closely. 

But Neal just smiled and gave a noncommittal smile: “They’re nice people.”

“Did they say anything I should know about?”

“Nothing of any importance.” The ‘to you’ hung in the air between them.

Peter sighed. He wasn’t going to get anything out of Neal. Not today at least. “So, what do you say to their request of your help?”

Neal’s smile slipped for a second and got an unhappy twist. Then it was back. “I’ll do it. I trust them not to endanger me or anything.”

“Alright. I trust your judgement on this.”

Neal’s smile got a bit more ernest. 

\-----------

The entire office had a nervous energy without Neal. They had gotten used to his happy and excited spirit and with that suddenly gone, the office felt boringly normal. Another thing was that Peter seemed extremely worried and that bled into Jones and Diana. Three of them were usually the ones to keep a cool head and calm everyone else down in a bad situation, so this made everything even worse. 

Neal walked in after five days with Arsenal. They were both laughing and in the middle of a conversation.

“Hey, guys”, Neal said with a wide smile as he walked past Diana and Jones.

“Hey, Neal. Peter is in his office”, Diana said without looking up while Jones watched curiously. 

Within ten minutes everything went back to normal.

\-------------

The next time Peter really thought about the incident was about one month later. 

“Honey, come downstairs please”, El yelled after opening the door. 

Peter hurried downstairs and stopped in his tracks when he spotted the goddamn Flash. Of course El and him were wearing their pajamas. 

“Agent Peter Burke? I’m the Flash. I want to talk to you about Neal Caffrey”, the goddamn superhero in his door said and pointed to the file under his arm on which Peter could see a photo of Neal. 

He sighed: “What did he do this time?”

The Flash laughed: “I swear it’s nothing bad. It’s actually pretty good.”

Once they had gotten the Flash a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table, Peter could no longer keep his curiosity in check: “So what is it you need to talk to me about?”

“Neal Caffrey is an alias. I cannot reveal his real name but he is an undercover agent for the JLA. We were informed of all of his actions. This file contains detailed reports on everything Neal ever did. There are also the forms that verify his undercover status including government approval.”

Peter stared at the Flash and watched for a sign of a lie. There was none. “Are you freaking serious?”

“I am. I will leave the file with you. You can use all of the documentation against anyone you can find of the people mentioned. All I ask of you is that you wait until Neal is ready to give up the cover. I know he genuinely enjoys working with you.”

“You haven’t told him about this yet, have you?”

The Flash smiled sadly: “There were reasons why Neal decided to go for this job. He was in a bad place and needed some time away from everything familiar but it’s time for him to go back home. His family wants him to come back.”

Peter considered that for a moment: “Are they good people?”

“Who?”

“His family.”

“They are. A bit complicated for sure and with more issues than I care to explain but they love him and just want the best for him.” There’s a smile on the Flash’s face. 

“Thank you for telling me all of this. I won’t forget it. How can I contact you?”

“There’s a number somewhere in the file. It’s for the JLA. You might not get me specifically but if you ask for Troia, Arsenal or me we’ll definitely call you back. I’ll tell you if there’s any development on my side.”

Then he’s gone and Peter is alone with an empty cup of tea and a file he didn’t even know existed ten minutes ago. 

\----------------------

“Are you okay, Neal?”, Peter asked on a stakeout.

“Yeah, why?”

Peter frowned: “You haven’t said anything in awhile.”

“I’m thinking.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“An old friend visited me a few days ago. Reminded me of who I used to be”, Neal said and probably thought Peter would assume he meant being a criminal. 

“That friend wasn’t possibly a superhero, were they?”, Peter said keeping his eyes on the house in front of them. 

Still, he could see Neal’s irritated look from the corner of his eye.

“The Flash visited me a week ago. Said something about your family wanting you to come back.”

Neal sighed: “The question is whether I want to go back.”

“Neal, I can’t and won’t tell you what to do. If you decide to go, I will make sure everything here is wrapped up without anyone suspecting anything. If you decide to stay, I will keep everything I do know a secret. Just don’t wait so long to decide that someone else makes the decision for you.”

\-------------

Peter had honestly already expected something like this when Neal had been eager to go on a stakeout. 

“Peter, I think I’ve come to a decision”, Neal said and Peter put down his sandwich.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going back. There were circumstances under which it was best for me to leave but I think I’m ready for this.”

Peter frowned: “Are you telling me that or yourself?”

“Probably both.”  
“But you think this is the right thing for you to do?”

“I do”, Neal said sounding much more secure.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”, Neal asked incredulously. 

“Yes. I’ll contact Flash to make sure your name is legally cleared, your photos wiped and your work still usable.”

“Thank you”, Neal said and his voice was softer and weaker than Peter had ever heard it before.


End file.
